Love at first fight?
by Mr Nuked Duck
Summary: Another night, another heist for everyone's favorite thieving anti-hero, right? Wrong. Read the story of how Red X met the silver-skinned goth from New Zealand: Argent. Oneshot.


**Many, many great thanks to _Stella Bella 123_ for Beta-reading this story, giving awesome suggestions and even contributing to the summary. I hope you all enjoy our work! **

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Frank Boles let out a strained groan as he flickered his eyes open, blinking away the black haze that threatened to swallow his world back into darkness. His body was hurting all over, he could taste blood running from his lip and he was pretty sure he had plenty of bumps and bruises left to discover.

The seatbelt was straining against his bulletproof vest, making him cringe in pain as he finally managed to activate the lock and release himself from it's suffocating hold. He landed on the ground with a loud thump, rolling over as he fought to keep back a squeal of pain. Even for an experienced guy like Boles, being shaken in the back of a flipping truck like a milkshake in a mixer wasn't something you recovered from just like that.

It hurt... _a_ _lot_!

Fighting to remain conscious, as well as keeping his thoughts running, Boles began to inspect the damaged truck's dark interior. It wasn't pretty.

Cargo and equipment riddled the place like toys did a kid's floor, while his partner was still strapped to his seat further in, unconscious but alive from the looks of things. No wonder this place looked the way it did, though; That had been one nasty crash! He could still hear the ringing in his ears, the rumbling sound of the security-van flipping over and the voice of the driver shouting something about a guy in a 'skull-mask'.

''Typical!'' Frank muttered in a cracking voice, glaring at the "roof" with a painful snarl. ''Some masked freak just had to come along and ruin my shift!''

Frank had always hated vigilantes, be it homicidal maniacs or cowled crusaders, he resented them all. "Super-heroes" and "super-villains", bah! They were all freaks in costumes, prowling the rooftops like they owned the place. Oh, what he wouldn't give to just hit the big bucks and be done with it all. Maybe his transfer to Arkham would prove profitable in this endeavor.

Shaking that thought aside for now, Boles decided to focus on the present.

Continuously glancing across the chaos around him, trying not to put too much strain on his hurting neck, Boles suddenly noticed his gun from the corner of his eye. It was lying on the asphalt just outside the van, only a couple of feet away from him. It was almost too good to be true! Seeing this chance at retaliation, the battered security guard began to crawl towards it, using his aching muscles to pull himself closer, bit by bit.

But, just as he was about to reach out for the energized weapon...

''_Ah, ah, ah~_!'' a muffled voice scolded softly, accompanied by a black boot kicking away the gun from his reaching hands, rattling wildly as it slid down an open sewer drain. ''Can't have you play with such dangerous toys, now can we?''

Boles looked up, his eyelids briefly widening in shock before narrowing back down into a poisonous glare as he finally got to see the guy who had put him through so much misery this evening. Bloody caped vigilantes! Thought they could just slap on some spandex and do whatever they wanted, did they? Well, this guy sure fitted the bill; Jet-black body suit, ash-gray accessories, white mask...

''Leave the dangerous toys to _me_!''

...red X.

**_*Whack!*_**

* * *

''That was almost too easy!'' Red X chuckled as he exited the crashed vehicle, a big, metallic suitcase marked 'Danger' tossed over his shoulder as he stepped out on the dark street. ''But a man's gotta' do what a man's gotta' do!'' the thief mused to himself as he opened the case, causing a bright, red light to illuminate his dark figure as he admired it's glowing contents.

''Oh-_yeah_~!'' he grinned beneath his mask as he peered down on the red canisters, quietly visualizing all the fun he would be able to have with these in his possession. ''This'll keep me stealing for a long time!''

''Not if we have anything to say about it!'' a familiar voice suddenly declared behind his back, drawing his gaze up from the canisters and over his shoulder, towards the source of the disturbance. ''Give it up, X!'' Robin grinned as he squinted down on the masked thief from the top of the flipped-over van, surrounded by his teenage super-posse. ''You're finished!''

A content hum escaped the masked burglar as he admired the group. Although his mask concealed it, he was actually smiling at them right now. Not counting the pile of knocked-out security guards, the setup here was five to one, meaning that the odds were against him. Just the way he liked them.

''You sound awfully sure of yourself, kid!'' Red X replied as he shut the suitcase again, turning around to fully greet his opponents. ''So, what makes you think you're gonna' be able to bust me _this_ time?!''

''Call it a hunch!'' Robin shrugged his green shoulders, arms crossed in a confident manner.

''_Or_ you can call it a tricked-up new version of my high-frequency sonic cannon! _BOYAAH_!'' Cyborg cheered as he turned his right hand into a weapon, quickly adapting a firing-stance as he aimed the glowing nozzle towards him.

The others quickly followed suit, charging up whatever power or ability they had at their disposal as they all kept their eyes focused on the thief before them. Just seeing their aggression flare up like that, the potential for thrill and excitement arising before him, Red X couldn't help but to smile at the sight. Was there ever a hobby more amusing than this, he wondered?

''I'm glad to see you haven't lost your spark!'' the thief announced as he crossed his arms, head tilted in a darling manner. ''But I'm afraid I don't have the _energy_ to play around right now, if you catch my drift!'' He finished by tapping the Xenothium-case meaningly.

''Yeah?! Well, we're not gonna give you a chance to get any!'' Beast boy retorted before shifting into a velociraptor, taking a swift leap off the van and diving towards the awaiting thief.

''Oh, _please_!'' Red X muttered in a bored voice as he pressed a button at the front of his belt, causing his figure to vanish in a fizzling blur, just barely avoiding the large, green creature as it came slamming down on the asphalt.

Reappearing on a parked car not far from the changeling, the super-suited thief quickly let an energized X fly from his hand, swatting against the green creature's side before enclosing it in a binding, red bondage.

''Get _real_, kid!'' the thief leered as he watched the predator squirm in it's stretchy bindings. ''You're never gonna beat me with lame moves like that!''

''Oh, yeah?! Well, check out these moves, skull-boy!'' Cyborg shouted as he came sprinting up to the car from his left, his cannon deployed and surging with energy.

Familiar with the cyborg's offensive attack-pattern, X's response was almost instant and with barely any effort at all. Flipping off the car before Cyborg even had a chance to blast him, he released a swarm of X-shaped shirukens towards the sprinting hero's feet. When the shirukens hit, they released a blast that launched the metal-man across the street and into a wall, successfully immobilizing him under a heavy layer of bricks.

''Nice moves...'' Red X chuckled mockingly as he kicked another brick onto the pile, as if only to add insult to injury. ''Could use a little work, though!''

''You talk too much!'' a monotonous voice suddenly declared from the shadows, followed by a wild barrage of trashcans and all kinds of whatnot being lobbed at him.

Not expecting this next attack, Red X barely had time to jump out of the way before the first projectile hit. Once again demonstrating his excellent acrobatic-skills, the nimble thief began to dance past the objects one by one, slowly but steadily making it closer to his hooded adversary.

''Not so fast!'' Starfire cried as she came shooting out of the sky like a comet, letting her energy-bolts hail over him like a meteor shower.

Another unexpected strike, Red X once again had to improvise, quickly using his belt to teleport away and reappear right behind Raven. He knew that the empath would be quick on the uptake, which was why he had to act even quicker. Using this small momentum of surprise to his advantage, the tricky thief grabbed her cloak and flipped over her head, enclosing it in the bundled-up cloth as he began to spin around. Using her swaying balance to pull her along, he briefly continued this human slingshot technique, eventually releasing her into her Tamaranean friend, successfully knocking them both to the ground.

The thief smiled as he admired the chaos he had brought upon them. Was he good or what?! All that was left now was-

**_*WARNING: Incoming attack!*_** his visor suddenly blared, but too late.

''HAIYAH!'' Robin's battle-cry sounded as his boot connected with the thief's back, launching him into the ground with a painful huff.

Not two seconds after he hit the ground, he was suddenly picked up and launched again, this time by Cyborg, who had somehow managed to get himself out of the brick-pile without X noticing. A couple of airborne feet later he was caught in mid-air, feeling something huge and strong squeeze down over his torso, making him gasp for air as this torture went on for another couple of seconds.

Once the thief was completely out of breath, the green mammoth who had holding him in it's trunk proceeded to toss him into the air, making him a clear target for the two flying females who had been eagerly awaiting his arrival. All it took was three, maybe four hits, and the thief was down on the asphalt again, completely shaken and shocked from this sudden series of surprise-attacks.

Couching as he pushed himself off the ground, Red X cursed and licked some blood of his busted lip, his hidden expression now looking anything but amused.

''That's - _***Cough!***_ - foul play, kid!'' the thief sneered as he looked up, meeting Robin's smug face with a hateful glare.

''Well, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?'' the boy wonder smirked as his team gathered behind him, all with confident looks on their faces.

''Yeah...'' Red X mused in a poisonous tone, his bitter frown suddenly reshaping into an evil grin as he watched the heroes stand there around him. ''As a matter of fact... I would!''

**_*WHZZZAAP!*_**

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''How's _that_ for foul play, kid?'' the smug thief asked as he walked up to the giant energy-bubble now enclosing the Teen Titans, stroking it's shiny, red surface with a sadistic adore.

''You won't get away with this, X!'' Robin shouted as he banged his fist against the bubble's inner surface, snarling at the masked thief standing on the other side of the forcefield.

''Watch me!'' Red X smiled as he took a step backwards, activating his teleportation-belt once again.

**_*FZZZTT!*_** the button sparked, fizzling and crackling as it jammed back together.

''Oh, come on! Not now!'' Red X let out an angered growl, repeatedly pressing the jammed button without success. ''The display is still showing 3% power, that should be more than enough!''

''Having some trouble with your - I'm sorry – _my_ tech?'' Robin smirked knowingly at the thief, making his masked eyes narrow into a deadly glare.

As fun as it was pissing off the bird-boy, the kid possessed quite the sass himself, always stabbing at the fact that it was his tech that made him so great. Or so _he_ thought at least.

''Look who's talkin'!'' Red X leered back in an a dry retort, briefly giving up on his hopeless button-jamming. ''You've had all this time to plan and train, but you still couldn't beat me!''

Robin didn't answer, nor did any of his team-mates.

''The combo was clever, I'll give you that!'' Red X continued to speak as he slowly approached the bubble, eyes locked on his rival's gaze. ''But honestly, Robin, I thought you were a better tactician than this?!''

Silence filled the tense void that was the next couple of seconds as Robin and Red X just stared into each others eyes, eyelids narrowed and gazes locked, as if they were having an inner showdown of some sort. Not a single word was uttered, until Robin finally broke up into the smallest of smirks.

''I am!''

**_*Warning: Incoming attack!*_**

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**_*WHAM!*_** Red X was barely able to dodge the attack, his feet tripping over themselves as he fought to regain his swaying balance, all the while trying to figure out where the attack had come from.

His feet had barely stopped sidetracking before the next hit came towards him, forcing him to dive in behind a car as the asphalt behind him cracked under the pressure of the attack. Taking but a short moment to recollect himself, the thief quickly drew a handful of shirukens from his technical glove, getting ready to counterattack.

As he flipped onto the car roof, however, his armed hand suddenly stopped itself mid-motion, hesitation gripping his mind. His masked eyes widened as he sat there on the roof, the thief remained as if frozen at the sight of his mysterious attacker.

It- _she_ was a girl!

Floating in the air above him, she gazed down upon him with a stoic expression, seemingly caught up in a similar moment of hesitation, or maybe she was just waiting to see what he was gonna do. Her skin-tone was pale to the point where it almost resembled silver. Reflective against the moon's bright glow, it caused her slim figure to illuminate against the dark night sky like a star. Her outfit was different from all other heroines he had seen as well, with dark leather meeting crimson cloth, it wasn't as glamorous and tacky as theirs. Her hair was different too: Big, sprawling locks of raven with a topped off set of red bangs.

To be honest, X never would have thought he'd see the day when he would be standing face to face with an actual goth superhero, yet here it was.

A bit strange, perhaps, but intriguing! Most definitely intriguing...!

''You know what I really love about this job?'' Red X smiled as he rose to his feet, showing no hesitation of being hit. ''You get to meet so many... interesting women!''

His statement was met by nothing but a stone-cold silence and a slightly intensified glare, but the silence in itself told him more than a hundred words could.

She wasn't a talkative person, at least not when it came to strangers. She didn't seem like a sucker for making friends, still, that didn't mean she wasn't sociable. She wasn't necessarily wild or prone to action, but rather observant and evaluating. From what he could tell she wasn't out to seriously injure him or anything, just throw him off balance and probably occupy him long enough for either her friends to escape or for him to run out of energy. If he were to read into the goth-look and stoic silence he would probably guess she hadn't had it too easy in the past. Heroes seldom had, believe it or not. As if a bunch of teenagers would just come out here and fight criminals if they actually had a home and family to return to.

Although, that last observation couldn't really be considered reliable, seeing as how he didn't know her. Though, he wouldn't mind getting to know her...!

Unfortunately, that would have to wait for another time!

Without warning, Red X let his shirukens fly, swarming up on the floating girl like a pissed off group of hornets. It was a regrettable course of action, yes, but necessary in order keep himself out of jail. The Xs never reached their intended target, however, as they were stopped dead by a solid, red energy-wall suddenly projected from the pale girl's gloved hands. With a swift motion, the wall dissolved and was instead replaced by a hammer, quickly descending towards him with stunning accuracy.

Red X dodged this attack rather easily, of course, but the car he had been sitting on didn't end up as lucky.

'Oh, well!' he thought to himself with a mental shrug. 'Like even a single brick in this town isn't insured yet!'

The battle didn't leave him with much time for unnecessary speculations, however, as he had to act quickly in order to regain the upper hand in this battle.

His feet had barely touched the ground before he was on the move again, now sprinting towards the point directly beneath the floating girl, all the while dodging a devastating hail of red energy-fists smashing down around him. Once he reached the point, he was immediately confronted by another hammer, striking down towards him head-first with pin-point precision and accuracy. The asphalt cracked, but Red X was nowhere to be seen.

Then, suddenly, there he was!

It took Argent but a second to identify the black blur appearing before her. How he had managed to do it - considering his teleporter didn't seem to work - was a mystery, but an irrelevant one right now.

She knew she wouldn't be able to block this next attack!

''You've got some serious moves there, beauty!'' the thief spoke as he whipped out his cape, letting the wind catch it and stop him right in front of her. ''I'll see you around!''

And with that, he pressed the button again, crackling and fizzling accompanying his exit as he disappeared before her eyes, his last line still hanging in the air between them.

''I'll see you around!''

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**If you liked this fic, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Review if you'd like. If not, that's cool too, I guess. God bless you all and have a wonderful day!**


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